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The Price is Right (1994 – 1995, U.S. Version)
A short lived 80-episode syndicated version of The Price is Right (most commonly known as The "New" Price is Right) hosted by Doug Davidson of The Young and the Restless, featuring elements never before seen on any version of TPIR, including among other things, the removal of Contestant's Row, and the replacement of the Turntable with a video wall. Pricing Games Some pricing games on The New Price is Right (not to be confused with the current version's original 1972 title) were played with slight modifications to the rules as played on the daytime version. Games which usually featured grocery products were played with unwinnable small prizes instead (e.g., Golden Road, Grand Game and Hole in One (or Two)), and some games featured other experimental rule changes. *'Barker's Markers:' The name was changed to "Make Your Mark" the single time it was played on this version of the show, as Bob Barker was not the host of this version. This name was adopted on the daytime show in 2008 when Drew Carey became the host. *'Clock Game:' The game was digitized, with no prop on stage for it, and the contestant was provided with a $1,000 range in which to guess the price of each prize. The game frequently used prizes with four-digit prices. On some occasions a third prize was awarded as a bonus for winning (a rule change which was adopted on the daytime version in 2009). *'Hole in One (or Two):' Small prizes were used instead of grocery items. When an item was chosen, its price was immediately revealed and then placed in line if it was higher than the previous prize chosen. On the daytime version, the price flags are arranged in line according to the contestant's choice before the prices are revealed. *'Magic #:' This used a Double Prices-like prop to hold the prices of the two prizes rather than the models hold them. The Magic Number set by the contestant playing was superimposed in between. *'Plinko:' While the top prize remained the same at $5,000 per chip for a potential total of $25,000, two configurations of slots were utilized (one of which featured replaced the outer $100 slots with two $2,500 slots). The method of earning chips was also changed from choosing the right number in the right position to a higher/lower pricing format with smaller prizes worth up to $400. *'Punch-A-Bunch:' During some playings, Davidson pulled the slip out of the hole as soon as it was punched. The player then decided to keep the money or punch another hole. On the daytime show, the slips are not revealed until the contestant has made all of his or her initial punches. *'Safe Crackers:' Instead of having the secondary prize (the one in which its price doubles as the safe's combination) inside the safe with the main prize, the secondary prize was outside the safe and talked about after the model locked the door. *'Super Ball': Instead of waiting until guessing all three small prizes before rolling the balls, the player rolled after each correct guess. *'3 Strikes:' The first number was lit at the beginning of the game and the number could repeat elsewhere in the price. Four chips representing the remaining numbers in the price were then placed into the bag with three strike chips. These rules were adopted on the daytime show in 2008, but the game's original rules returned in 2009. Also, the super-imposed "NO" sign for misplaced numbers was replaced with a red box which appeared around the space where the contestant thought the number he/she pulled out belonged in; it melted down the on the screen if the contestant was wrong. Running Gags To add comedy to the show, some running gags (besides Doug Davidson's improv) were present: *'Hole in One:' If the contestant missed his/her first putt, Doug would mindlessly wander around, feeling sorry for the contestant, until he'd accidentally press the button that flips the sign that says "ONE" to the other side that says "OR TWO." *'Make Your Mark:' Although only played once (and sadly a loss), the comedy bit that would have been the running gag consisted of Doug giving the contestant $100 to start with, only to have the producer walk out and remind him the correct amount was $500. *'Cliff Hangers:' Doug referred to the mountain climber as "Hans," similar to how Dennis James referred to him as "Fritz," and Drew Carey referring to him as "Yodely Guy." *'Magic #:' Doug referred to the Magic # props as the "geezmo" and the lever as the "leever."' *'3 Strikes:' Some jokes, such as a rubber chicken or severed hand, would be placed in the bag for humor. Gallery Plinko TNPiR Plinko Sign.jpg|Due to there being no turntable, the "Plinko" sign gets moved to the back of the audience. Tnpir_Plinko.jpg TNPiR Plinko Price 1.jpg|As mentioned, TNPiR'94 used the "Higher/Lower" format for earning chips. Here's a wrong price. TNPiR Plinko Price 2.jpg|This is what you see for a correct guess. TNPiR Plinko Price 3.jpg|This is what you see for an incorrect guess. TNPiR Plinko Amounts 1.jpg|Again, as mentioned, Plinko used two money sequences. This one was only used on the first playing. TNPiR Plinko Amounts 2.jpg|And here's the other one, similar to the daytime show, but with $2500 instead of $100 spaces. The biggest win in this version was $16,500. Punch-A-Bunch TNPiR Punch-A-Bunch 1.jpg|It's not a giant $10,000 bill... TNPiR Punch-A-Bunch 2.jpg|...but it's still Punch-A-bunch. Golden Road TNPiR Golden Road 1.jpg|As mentioned, Golden Road started with a small prize. Sometimes it was a product like a fire extinguisher... TNPiR Golden Road 2.jpg|...or a fishbowl of cash, representing a random number. Ten Chances TNPiR 10 Chances 1.jpg|One unique distinction about this version was the fact that there were not just one... TNPiR 10 Chances 2.jpg|...but two perfect playings of Ten Chances. 3 Strikes TNPiR 3 Strikes Rubber Chicken.jpg|Occasionally, other items like rubber chickens were put in the bag for humor. TNPiR 3 Strikes 1.jpg|The "3 Strikes" board, with the first number given. TNPiR 3 Strikes 2.jpg|An example of a wrong guess. Clock Game TNPiR Clock Game 1.jpg|Besides the rule changes, "Clock Game" also had two ways of displaying the prize, this... TNPiR Clock Game 2.jpg|...and this. Squeeze Play TNPiR Squeeze Play 1.jpg|"Squeeze Play" was played in one of two positions on stage: between Doors 1 and 2... TNPiR Squeeze Play 2.jpg|...and in front of the Video Wall. Other Pricing Games TNPiR Make Your Mark.jpg|The "Make Your Mark" board, with a display covering the "Barker's Marker$" logo. TNPiR Hole in One or Two.jpg|The "Hole in One" green. The $500 bonus wasn't mentioned until won. TNPIR_Magic_-.png TNPiR Magic - Price Display.jpg|The repurposed Magic # "Double Prices" board, with the most expensive prize on top. TNPiR Any Number.jpg|Here's Any Number... TNPiR Money Game.jpg|..."Money Game"... TNPiR One Away.jpg|...and "One Away". As with Lucky $even, the cars were driven out on stage. TNPiR Safe Crackers.jpg|Here's "Safe Crackers", with the smaller prize to the left of the safe. TNPiR Cliff Hangers.jpg|Here's "Cliff Hangers". Doug called the mountain climber "Hans", after Hans Gudegast, the real name of his Y&R costar, Eric Braeden. TNPiR Shell Game.jpg|Here's "Shell Game" in front of Door 2, with small prizes off to the side. TNPiR Temptation.jpg|Here's Temptation! TNPiR Super Ball!!!.jpg|While Superball was basically the same, the balls were thrown after each guess, and the small prizes were off to the side. TNPiR Grand Game.jpg|Here be Grand Game. TNPiR Lucky $even.jpg|The only change to Lucky $even was using the buzzer for a wrong guess. Also, a harp gliss accompanied the reveal of the game. TNPiR Danger Price.jpg|WARNING, DANGER PRICE! TNPiR Dice Game.jpg|Get set to roll dem bones. TNPiR Secret X.jpg|Secret X marks the spot. Showcase Showdown The Showcase Showdown was played with the traditional Big Wheel (in which the spinners were ordered from highest to lowest), but it mostly used a new format called "The Price WAS Right." This was played like the One Bid games in the daytime version. The three players stand in front of a quasi-Contestant's Row, arranged either by least to most winnings or by the order they were called. A vintage commercial for a product was presented to the three contestants who were then asked to bid on what the product cost at the time the commercial first aired. The contestant with the closest bid without going over advanced to the Showcase. In the event that all three contestants overbid (which rarely happened), the bids were erased and began again, with Davidson instructing contestants to bid lower than the lowest bid in the previous round. No bonus was awarded for a "Perfect Bid." TNPiR Big Wheel.jpg|Here be an old friend of ours. The Price Was Right.jpg|Here's "The Price WAS Right"... TNPiR Contestant's Row.jpg|...and its modified "Contestants' Row". The Showcase The Showcase was also changed, with only one person playing the Showcase, the pricing game Range Game was modified for this round. A new prop was built with a $60,000 scale ($10,000 to $70,000). During the show's final commercial break, the winner of the Showcase Showdown chose a range at random between $3,000 and $10,000 (in $1,000 increments). A single showcase was then presented. Once it was finished, the rangefinder was started up the scale. The contestant pulled a lever when they thought the showcase value was contained within the range. If correct, the contestant won the showcase, which was generally worth between $20,000-$60,000, comparatively higher than average showcase values on the daytime show (which, at the time, offered showcases usually worth between $10,000-$30,000). The Showcase Range Board vlcsnap-378070.png|This is a shot from one of the two pilots, with the standard Range Game board repainted. This would be retained in the intro. TNPiR_Showcase_Range_Game.jpg|Our champion faces the Showcase Range Game. vlcsnap-2013-06-20-16h14m36s143.png|With a large budget compared to the Daytime show, the Showcases could drastically change in price, from this low... Showcase ARP Reveal.jpg|...to this high. This was the biggest Showcase total offered; sadly, it wasn't won. TNPIR_RGWIN.jpg|We have a winner!!!!!! vlcsnap-2013-06-18-17h56m15s96.png|This win led to the highest total awarded in the show's short history: $52,270, including two cars. Showcases Gilligan's Island: The Final Days tnp_81.jpg|With Jay Wolpert back as EP, Showcases in the nighttime show returned to the level of zaniness and fun they enjoyed under the first Wolpert regime. Here we catch up on five of seven castaways, here on Gilligan's Island. tnp_82.jpg|Burton starts the showcase by mentioning that The Skipper and The Professor are both dead now. "Seems everyone whose first name was 'the' died." But Ginger, the movie star, is alive and well and as beautiful as ever. tnp_83.jpg|The Howells, who've gotten maybe too much sun, decide to make a communications device out of Mr. Howell's new ROLEX. tnp_84.jpg|And here's sweet and lovely Mary Ann! She's got a kitchen set up on the island. tnp_85.jpg|And who's that leave to be Gilligan? Who else!!! tnp_86.jpg|So join us here each day, my friends, you're sure to get a smile! Burton and The Ark vlcsnap-2013-06-18-17h35m16s63.png|Some Showcases took on derivatives of popular folklore, like "Burton and The Ark". vlcsnap-2013-06-18-17h37m03s46.png|And in this ark, you'll find a pair of Beatles... vlcsnap-2013-06-18-17h38m29s193.png|...two mice (attached to computers)... vlcsnap-2013-06-18-17h39m35s236.png|...a pair of Rams... vlcsnap-2013-06-18-17h42m10s103.png|...and two Mustangs! vlcsnap-2013-06-18-17h42m43s165.png|Is our player taking this ark home? vlcsnap-2013-06-18-17h42m50s166.png|Yes! ECHO ECHO ECHO vlcsnap-2013-06-18-17h23m04s151.png|The most famous of all the TNPiR'94 Showcases, the Showcase with an ECHO ECHO ECHO. Starting with a Genesis Genesis Genesis... vlcsnap-2013-06-18-17h23m13s246.png|...and a TV TV TV... tnp_87.jpg|..."What is this ECHO ECHO ECHO, doesn't make sense. On Y&R, it means something like PREGNANT PREGNANT PREGNANT!".... tnp_88.jpg|Burton promises to try harder, and succeeds... tnp_89.jpg|...and succeeds... tnp_90.jpg|...and succeeds! tnp_92.jpg|Sadly, though, the player did not, did not, did not. Although this Showcase format was unsuccessful in the United States, a modified version of this is used on versions of the show in other countries. TPIR1993_1.jpg TPIR1993_2.jpg TPIR1993_3.jpg TPIR19931.jpg TPIR19932.jpg TPIR19933.jpg TPIR19934.jpg TPIR19935.jpg TPIR19936.jpg TPIR19937.jpg TPIR19938.jpg History *The set and theme song from this version was used for the unsold lottery-themed pilot called Cash Tornado hosted by Jim Perry and announced by Gene Wood although it was never tied to a specific lottery but would have featured three different qualifier tickets for any lottery that chose to buy the show. As they played a series of games culminating with the game Avalanche where the winner could possibly win up to $100,000 on top of what they won earlier. Although the show did not sell the sizzle reel was uploaded by fellow game show host Wink Martindale on his official YouTube page. additionally, Roger Dobkowitz was one of the contestants playing Force Field and Lisa Stahl was one of the models in the pilot. *The show was launched by Jonathan Goodson in 1994 as an attempt to modernize the program and attract a younger demographic, as the show at the time had a stigma of being "old" and having an aging audience. In addition, Goodson feared that the daytime version's host, Bob Barker, was getting old and wouldn't be able to host much longer. *Besides both versions being Mark Goodson shows and taping at the same studio, this version used a completely different cast and crew from the daytime one. *Both Bob Barker and Rod Roddy noted on-air disliking this version of the show. *The show confused many longtime fans, who thought Bob Barker was no longer host of the show. As the show aired during Barker's lawsuit with former Barker Beauty Dian Parkinson, it was rumored he was fired and the show changed formats to fit this, but Barker explained on the air that it was a separate program and the daytime version wasn't going anywhere. *This syndicated version of the show had much looser rules about when it could be scheduled (compared to the two previous versions, which had much stricter rules per CBS, in order not to take away viewers from the daytime version.) In fact, in some markets, the program aired at the same time as the daytime version, having the two programs compete against each other. *The program was bundled with the new Family Feud featuring the return of Richard Dawson. Some stations picked up just one of the programs, while others took both of them. Some took just Family Feud, which also offered stations two episodes. When this version of TPIR was cancelled, some of the stations picked up the additional episode of Family Feud to fill the time slot. *The show struggled to get high ratings due to many factors including poor time clearances, the O.J. Simpson trial preempting programming, viewer unfamiliarity with the format and comparing unfavorably to the daytime version. *The daytime version would start skewing younger demographics shortly after this version's cancellation by adding more and more college students as contestants. Also, Barker's appearance in the film Happy Gilmore gave him exposure to many younger fans as well. *Davidson once played against Bob Barker and The Price is Right team on Family Feud (as a member of The Young and the Restless team). *Davidson auditioned to take over as host after Bob Barker's retirement, but was passed over for Drew Carey. *Although the format of this show was unsuccessful an the U.S., this show's format would be adopted in many foreign versions afterward, most notably Europe, Israel and Mexico. *A music package by Edd Kalehoff was made for this version, along with some recycled cues from the daytime version thrown in for certain events. This package was recycled into the daytime, Million Dollar Spectaculars and Gameshow Marathon episodes after this version's cancellation. The theme and its "Come On Down" cue were also carried over to European versions of the show, notably Bruce's Price Is Right. Category:Shows Category:Seasons